The holidays are magical; the dreary weather, not so much. It’s been overcast for several days here, and keeping my kids entertained is no easy feat. When I laid eyes on this adorable plush Christmas tree, though, I had a light bulb moment. Sometimes a fun snack inspired by your kids’ toys is all it takes to make the day a little merrier and brighter.

For this fun food art plate, you’ll need:

honeydew

two banana slices

two blueberries

fruit leather

First, cut three thick wedges of honeydew of different lengths; the smallest wedge should be a triangle to be the treetop. Feel free to leave the skin on: it makes munching on them later a lot easier! Use the rim of a large mug to smooth and shape the top of each wedge so that they stack snugly in the shape of a Christmas tree.

Next, cut two slices of banana and lay them on the bottom wedge. Take the two biggest blueberries of the bunch and place them on top of the banana slices for the eyes.

Cut a couple inches of fruit leather and place just under the bottom of the tree. For the mouth, use a measuring tablespoon to cut a semicircle from the remaining fruit leather. Use kitchen scissors to cut a thin smile, using the curve of the semicircle as a guide.

And you’re done! Have fun guessing with your kids what the tree is looking at, or maybe Plush Christmas Tree and Honeydew Christmas Tree might fancy a friendly conversation. My three-year-old called them “mommy and baby twees” saying “what do you wanna eat” to each other. They keep it real!

Keep those adorable googly-eyed toys coming, Land of Nod!

Take a peek at Selena’s food art on her blog, How About Cookie, and follow her creations, crafts, and—once in a while—actual cooking on Instagram.

Trick or Treat I have something good to eat! Halloween is one of my favorite times of year and in celebration of this spooky month long holiday, I have included some simple and delicious Halloween snacks for you and your family to enjoy.

Ghost Bananas & Clementine Pumpkins

Check out these festive ideas to create ghost bananas and clementine pumpkins and marshmallow monster guts. Not only are they absolutely darling but also are yummy snacks that will have your family screaming for more.

To get started you will need bananas, clementine, celery, regular and mini chocolate chips.

First, remove the skin from the clementine and cut a small hole to stick in your celery stem.

Next, for the ghosts, cut a banana in half and place two mini chocolate chips at the top for eyes and a regular chocolate chip for the mouth. Place them on a tray and serve as a great after-school snack!

Monster Guts Cup Recipe

I have also included step-by-step instructions for my Halloween snacks monster guts cup recipe. Its one of the easiest desserts I’ve come across and it’s to die for!

First, crush the Oreos and mix the pieces with Cool-Whip and marshmallows. Add the green food dye to the marshmallow blend; this will give your monster guts some ghoulish color!

Next, take your cups and rim them with gel icing. Dip the icing side into any desired sprinkles.

Spoon your monster gut into the cups and add gummy worms for the finishing touch. Enjoy! Corri McFadden is the owner and founder of eDrop-Off Luxury Consignment. As a Style Expert and successful blogger, she hosts a weekly fashion segment on Chicago’s “You and Me This Morning”, and features “Style Recipes”, videos and Fashion “Must Haves” on her self-titled lifestyle website Corri McFadden. Most recently, she launched Glitter and Bubbles, a modern day moms guide for those looking for inspiration through fashion, food and décor.

Busy Moms (and Dads) know that any easy-to-prepare meal for their kids is gold. I wanted to share my three favorite meals/snack bites that are so delectable; once you eat one of these you won’t be able to stop! These quick bites are perfect for when you are running from soccer practice to ballet lessons or have a last minute play date at your home. Just follow these easy steps and you’ll have your little ones clearing their plates!

Party Pinwheels

Using an electric mixer, blend together 1 package of ranch dressing mix, 1 package of softened cream cheese, 1 package of ranch dressing, and 2 chopped green onions. Spread the mixture onto a soft tortilla shell, making sure to cover just one side completely.

Sprinkle your choice of toppings onto the tortilla; I like to use chopped celery, red pepper, black olives, and cheese. Next roll up each tortilla and wrap in aluminum foil. Place wrapped rolls in the refrigerator for 2 hours prior to serving.

Remove the aluminum foil and slice end into 1/4 -1/2 think bites. Remember to cut off the ends!

Pizza Crescent Rolls

Next, roll up the triangles and set the bake time needed according to the crescent roll directions. These pizza rolls are great to enjoy with a family game night or kid’s party.

Mini Nilla Wafers

This might be one of the most adorable desserts on the planet and a healthy dessert choice for you family. Spread the peanut butter onto the bottom of 2 mini Nilla wafers. Place a banana slice between the two wafers. Next, roll the banana sides through sprinkles in a wheel-like motion until you have the desired amount. Enjoy!

Corri McFadden is the owner and founder of eDrop-Off Luxury Consignment. As a Style Expert and successful blogger, she hosts a weekly fashion segment on Chicago’s “You and Me This Morning”, and features “Style Recipes”, videos and Fashion “Must Haves” on her self-titled lifestyle website Corri McFadden. Most recently, she launched Glitter and Bubbles, a modern day moms guide for those looking for inspiration through fashion, food and décor.

With a toddler running around, I think about snacks a lot more than I used to. Every chance I get to sneak in a healthy snack here and there is one that I embrace. When I can offer him snacks that I feel great about, it makes it even better. I’ve really enjoyed taking some of the traditional boxed snacks and making homemade versions lately. The biggest hit has been these easy DIY Fruit Snacks. They’re just as fun to make as they are to eat – especially if your little one is helping you out in the kitchen. I’ve found that any time I involve my toddler Ollie in cooking, he’s more likely to try whatever we’ve made together. He loves these fruit snacks and eats them by the handful! While I’m sure that there are fruit gummies out there that are comparable in nutrition, you can’t beat the ease and satisfaction of making your own for an afternoon activity with your kids. It’s a great idea to keep in mind as you’re trying to keep kids busy during the last few weeks of summer before they head back to school! The ratio of ingredients is really easy to remember and the variations are endless.

In a small saucepan, add the fruit or vegetable juice and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Allow the powder to be absorbed in the liquid (it will look a little wrinkly on the surface) before whisking to fully combine.

On the stovetop, heat the liquid slowly until it warms through over medium heat. Cook the liquid until it is thin and no longer grainy. Once it reaches this stage, turn off the heat and whisk in the honey. Depending on how sweet your juice is you can slightly increase or decrease this amount.

Carefully pour liquid into candy molds or into an 8×8 inch glass baking dish. I had great success using a clean dropper/syringe that I use when giving medications to my little guy. It was especially helpful for the small candy molds I used. You can find them here. I love the shapes!

Transfer molds or glass dish to the refrigerator and chill until set – about an hour. Remove from molds or cut the flavored gelatin into squares.

This recipe is a great jumping off point for further variations. Adding extracts or other nutritional ingredients like vitamin C powder are great ways to pack a punch in your homemade gummies.

Kelsey Nixonis the host of Kelsey’s Essentials on Cooking Channel and author of Kitchen Confidence. Kelsey’s Essentials is also currently airing Mon-Thurs at 3pm on Food Network. Kelsey, her husband Robby, and son Oliver (“Ollie”) live in New York City. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Honest to Nod is a collaborative blog presented by The Land of Nod, featuring tons of our favorite bloggers, designers and friends. If you’re looking for clever decorating ideas, unique diy craft projects, recipes and more, you’ve clicked to the right place.

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Honest to Nod is a collaborative blog presented by The Land of Nod, featuring tons of our favorite bloggers, designers and friends. If you’re looking for clever decorating ideas, unique DIY craft projects, recipes and more, you’ve clicked to the right place.